Holiday in Champagne-Ardennes

A region to discover...

If there is something to celebrate (or not) then you have to drink, according to tradition, the great sparkling wine Champagne. In Champagne-Ardenne we toast the good life forever!

Green and gold

As for the scenery, the Champagne-Ardenne is a beautiful region featuring the northern mountains and forests and green plains in the south. There are more than 500 miles of trails covering these completely beautiful landscapes. After a hard day of trekking there is always a glass of champagne at the end of it! Also worth a visit are the town of Epernay and the ‘Avenue de Champagne’. This is a famous street full of buildings in the classic Renaissance style.

Ancient Cities

The city of Reims is the perfect blend of historic and modern architecture. The ‘Centre Ville’ is the heart of the city, where there is the famous Cathedral of Notre-Dame, the Romanesque Basilica of ‘Saint-Remi’ and portal of Mars, the largest triumphal arch in the world of Roman origin. Chalons-en-Champagne, the region's capital, boasts of a wonderful public library in a building from the seventeenth century. For even more ancient buildings visit Sedan, in particular the castle of Sedan, a fortress of 35,000 square metres, the largest castle in Europe!

Camping La Forge de Sainte Marie

Available accommodation

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Besides the city library there are many things in the capital, Chalons-en-Champagne, to discover. Many beautiful buildings including the cathedral Saint-Etienne are recorded on UNESCO's World Heritage List as part of the Pilgrims Routes in France to Santiago de Compostela. The stained glass windows are famous from the sixteenth century.

SHOPPING

Clothing stores and pastry

The city of Reims is ideal for a day of shopping, especially around Notre-Dame and the ‘Place Drouet d'Erlon’. Here you will find the famous department store ‘Galeries Lafayette’. Don’t miss the patisserie ‘La Maison Fossier’ where you can sample ‘the pink biscuits of Reims’.

TO SEE

Six small medieval villages

The Champagne-Ardenne features six small medieval villages, quaint towns with up to 5000 inhabitants. Bourmont is an impressive walled city on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley of the Meuse. The other five villages are: Vignory, Sainte-Menehould, Rocroi, Ervy-le-Chatel and Châteauvillain.

TO TASTE

Champagne and truffles

The ‘liquid gold and black diamond’ (champagne and truffles) are the two major delicacies of the region. If you want to know more about the champagne follow the ‘Way of Champagne’ visiting Vitry-le-Francois, Bassu, Rosay and Val-de-Vière.